Religion & Law

?Fervor around Seton Hall gay marriage course has died down?

Posted on November 22, 2010
The Star-Ledger: "In the basement of Jubilee Hall at Seton Hall University, 24 undergraduates meet twice a week for a course known as 'Special Topics in Political Theory: Gay Marriage' . . . The three-credit course made headlines last spring when Newark Archbishop John J...

Yavapai County judge named to AZ Supreme Court

Posted on November 22, 2010
KTAR: "Gov. Jan Brewer has appointed Robert Brutinel, a trial judge from a county outside the state's largest metro areas, to fill an Arizona Supreme Court vacancy."

Is Catholicism in China different from elsewhere?

Posted on November 22, 2010
Slate: "The Chinese must choose between their government and the pope. There are actually two strains of Catholicism in China. The official, 'above-ground' version operates in state-approved churches and is overseen by the Chinese Catholic Bishops Conference and the state-affiliated Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association rather than by the pope...

UK: A poor excuse to ban the NHS nurses? Christmas party

Posted on November 22, 2010
Guardian: "A few months ago nurses at the Betsi Cadwaladr University NHS trust, the largest health organisation in Wales, received a shock: their Christmas party was going to be cancelled. What was more shocking was the excuses used by management to justify their decision ...

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India: Minority welfare dept to look after concerns of ?gays, transgenders?

Posted on November 22, 2010
Times of India: "Things are finally looking up for the gay and transgender community in the state. In its first step forward, the state government has issued a GO bringing the transgender community under the purview of the minorities welfare department ...

Alan Sears: With gratitude, for the giants whose shoulders ADF stands on

Posted on November 22, 2010
ADF President and CEO Alan Sears writing at Inside the Issues: "It is inevitable, in any week dedicated to giving thanks to the Lord for His blessings and mercies beyond measure, that my heart would turn to the founders of the Alliance Defense Fund . ...

Australia: Roll-out of NSW ethics classes a ?hot button? issue for Christians

Posted on November 22, 2010
Christian Today: "The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) today urged the NSW Government not to rubber-stamp the roll-out of ethics classes in competition with Scripture classes ? saying this is a 'hot button' issue for the Christian constituency."

Netherlands: HIV infection rate goes up amongst ?gay? men

Posted on November 22, 2010
Dutch News: "The HIV infection rate amongst gay men is soaring, according to new figures from the HIV monitoring foundation."

Russian homosexuals hold first authorized demonstration

Posted on November 22, 2010
France 24: "A small group of Russian homosexuals held what was billed as the first authorised demonstration of its type in the country Saturday, despite provocations from counter-protesters who threw eggs."

NJ ?family-planning? funds back up for vote today

Posted on November 22, 2010
Courier-Post: "Assembly Democrats plan to make another attempt in today's session to restore funding for family-planning clinics, although recent votes in legislative committees suggest it is an effort unlikely to succeed."

Kerala, India: Islamic bank is set up on secular principles of Shariat

Posted on November 22, 2010
MSN India: "The Kerala government today informed the High Court that an Islamic bank is established on the secular principles of Shariat law and irrespective of religion anyone can become a stakeholder."

Northern Ireland Church slams anti-sectarianism plan

Posted on November 22, 2010
Belfast Telegraph: "Church leaders have slammed the government's blueprint for tackling sectarianism in Northern Ireland. The Church of Ireland has told First Minister Peter Robinson and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness that their Cohesion, Sharing and Integration (CSI) strategy aimed at bridging community divisions will not work...

UK: Law on religious assemblies in schools ?should be axed?

Posted on November 22, 2010
Telegraph: "The 66-year-old legislation governing 'collective worship' is too restrictive and fails to meet the needs of a modern education system, it was claimed. Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, is among a group of trade unionists, secularists and religious leaders calling for the rules to be axed...

Maryland: Storefront churches draw opposition in Highlandtown

Posted on November 22, 2010
Baltimore Sun: "But while the church and the community association may share some goals, they've been at odds of late. Some Highlandtown residents have raised concerns about noise and parking stemming from Savage's church, and recently mounted a zoning challenge that questioned whether Holy Truth had the permits it needed to operate...

Australian Greens force same-sex ?marriage? back on agenda

Posted on November 22, 2010
New Zealand Herald: "Despite her attempts to shuffle it to the bottom of a large and fractious in-tray, Prime Minister Julia Gillard now has no chance of avoiding a further, divisive, debate on gay marriage."

MI: Superior Township delays vote on proposed sexually oriented business

Posted on November 19, 2010
Sault Ste. Marie Evening News: "The Superior Township board for the second straight month delayed voting on proposed adult entertainment and medical marijuana business."

Lieberman says Democrats will have votes to repeal DADT

Posted on November 19, 2010
"'There's more than 60 senators, I'm convinced, who are prepared to vote for this bill, including Don't Ask Don't Tell,' Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent who is voting with Democrats on this issue, said in a press conference Thursday morning."

A case study in trains: China steeling technology from American companies that export American jobs

Posted on November 19, 2010
Wall Street Journal: "When the Japanese and European companies that pioneered high-speed rail agreed to build trains for China, they thought they'd be getting access to a booming new market, billions of dollars worth of contracts and the cachet of creating the most ambitious rapid rail system in history...

Vanderbilt considering mixed-gender dormitories

Posted on November 19, 2010
Student Free Press: "A housing committee established to explore new gender-integrated living options distributed an e-mail survey to a sample of Vanderbilt University students last week to assess interest in gender mixed on-campus accommodations."

Canada: When a mother is on trial, the father is the accused

Posted on November 19, 2010
Barbara Kay writing at the National Post: "The judge?s attitude is shameful. But what can you expect from someone who has been trained ? literally, judges take structured learning programs steeped in feminist myths and misandric conspiracy theories ? that women are never abusive or violent unless they have been driven to it by an abusive male...

ENDA in sight . . . or is it?

Posted on November 19, 2010
OneNewsNow: "According to open homosexual Congressman Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts), there is 'zero chance' that Congress will do anything on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). He says the focus will be on repealing 'don't ask, don't tell...

Americans want marriage, despite 40 percent who say it?s obsolete

Posted on November 19, 2010
The Star-Ledger: "The Pew Research Center?s latest survey did turn up that growing perception of marriage?s obsolescence. It neglected, however, to ask people what they felt about it . . . It turns out Americans love marriage. They hope to marry, and most eventually will...

Few businesses sprout, with even fewer jobs

Posted on November 19, 2010
Wall Street Journal: "Fewer new businesses are getting off the ground in the U.S., available data suggest, a development that could cloud the prospects for job growth and innovation . . . The number of companies with at least one employee fell by 100,000, or 2%, in the year that ended March 31, the Labor Department reported Thursday...

Dallas ISD adopts anti-bullying policy that includes protections for ?gay? students

Posted on November 19, 2010
Dallas Morning News: "The Dallas school board on Thursday passed an anti-bullying policy that includes protections for gay and lesbian students. Local gay and lesbian groups praised the language and called DISD's new policy pioneering. The policy includes provisions for a broad swath of students and is the first of its kind in DISD...

Muslims in US trying to impose Sharia: report

Posted on November 19, 2010
The National: Muslims in the United States are trying to impose Sharia law by exploiting the nation's legal system, says a new report by a group of former government officials and right-wing intellectuals." | 177 Page report from the Center for Security Policy: Shariah - The Threat to America

David W. Virtue: ?The true legacy of Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson?

Posted on November 19, 2010
David W. Virtue writing at Virtue Online: "There is something entirely disingenuous about the bishop's claims. Whatever 'toll' or 'strain' he is talking about is entirely self-induced, if not self-inflicted. No one said he had to come out. No one said he had to run for bishop though he tried in three dioceses before he hit pay dirt in New Hampshire ...

Lord Blair says religion is regarded as ?irrelevant, old-fashioned and violent?

Posted on November 19, 2010
Telegraph: "In a lecture last night, the retired police officer, who led Scotland Yard during the 2005 suicide bombings on London's transport system, said that religious leaders were losing the struggle to make it clear that faith impels them to do good deeds...

Preview of possible outcomes of Proposition 8 argument before the 9th Circuit

Posted on November 19, 2010
Vikram David Amar writing at FindLaw: "On December 6, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will hear oral argument in the federal constitutional challenge to Proposition 8 -- California's voter-enacted ban on same-sex marriage. While the identity of the three judges to whom the appeal has been assigned won't be known until a week before the argument, the time is ripe to sketch out at least some of the possible outcomes of the Ninth Circuit proceedings...

Couple?s abortion vote site declared a pro-life publicity stunt

Posted on November 19, 2010
LifeNews: "The web site a Minnesota couple created seeking a public vote on whether or not they should have an abortion, taking the life of their 17-week unborn child, has been declared a pro-life stunt by both sides of the abortion debate."

Pro-lifers and ?repeal and replace?

Posted on November 19, 2010
James C. Capretta writing at Public Discourse: "Richard Stith, a pro-life law professor at Valparaiso University, is urging his fellow pro-lifers to stay off the 'repeal and replace' bandwagon. In an article for First Things online, he has suggested that a more promising approach for pro-lifers is amending the new law with clear pro-life language ...

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